(Written by Sushbir Bhomia)
As the particular person with the longest relationship with my father, Sardar Balbir Singh Dosanjh, after my mom, I nonetheless can’t consider that he’s not with us. I really feel his presence in each nook of our home and in each second in our lives. Everyone says that point is the very best healer, however someplace inside my coronary heart, I want he was nonetheless round for his solely ardour – hockey and his followers.
I used to be born 4 months after the Indian hockey workforce received the historic gold medal on the 1948 London Olympics and my father referred to as me an ‘Olympic’ child.
When he returned after the London Olympic victory, he would typically inform my mom Sushil Kaur that it was her best pleasure to win an Olympic gold medal and her second best pleasure being the daddy of a daughter. He named me after my mom and his title letters. I grew up watching him follow at our home-made purpose put up in Jalandhar Cantt. My youthful brother and I realized to play hockey on the similar goalpost. We can even see him taking part in in some tournaments. He was very completely happy to see us within the viewers. I performed hockey at college degree and later received the colour of Punjab University, which he was very happy with. He typically informed my mom that he was his fortunate mascot as he received all three Olympic medals after marriage.
For instance, one of many many issues he taught us was respecting each faith and each human being.
During the 1975 World Cup coaching camp of the Indian hockey workforce after which in the course of the World Cup, he used to ask all of the gamers to place their idols or spiritual books on a desk and pray collectively. For him, it was Team India regardless of representing completely different religions, and that’s how he lived all his life. While he was in England throughout coaching camp, my grandfather was admitted to a hospital. Per week later, my grandfather died and later my mom additionally suffered mind haemorrhage. But the nation got here first for my father. He held all of the spiritual ceremonies for his father after the Indian workforce’s victory and his return to India.
During the final one 12 months of his life, I used to look at all worldwide matches dwell on TV with him, typically in the course of the evening, and he used to inform me that when the Indian workforce wins Olympic gold, he does bhangra with them. He was completely happy to see gamers in any sports activities self-discipline.
He was a fantastic believer of karma and by no means pursued the fruits of his laborious work. He would say that each Lord Krishna and Guru Nanak Dev taught that one ought to work and never fear concerning the penalties. But I disagree with him. Being the pinnacle coach of the Indian workforce that received three Olympic gold medals and received the World Cup, he deserved the Bharat Ratna. We would have a protracted dialogue on this situation, however their solely reply can be that every one that is the desire of God.
We need his legacy to be preserved and that the Indian authorities will be capable to hint my father’s lacking memorabilia, together with the 1956 Melbourne Olympic blazer, and construct a museum to encourage generations to return. On Tuesday, the Punjab authorities will title the Mohali Hockey Stadium after my father and I’ll pray for the peace of the departed soul from house.
A number of years in the past, a younger little one performed the function of younger Balbir Singh Sr. in a documentary. Years later the identical little one got here to satisfy my father along with his father and informed him that he has been chosen within the junior workforce of the state and it was due to my father that he received impressed and performed hockey. This is the true legacy of Balbir Singh Dosanjh and I’m positive that each time the Indian hockey workforce wins Olympic gold, it is going to be watching with pleasure from above.
(As informed to Nitin Sharma)
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
